


New Prospects

by moonymoment



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday Party, Drinking, First Kiss, Fluff, Kissing Lessons, M/M, happy birthday moony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:08:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29967546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonymoment/pseuds/moonymoment
Summary: It's Remus' seventeenth birthday, and he's never kissed anyone. Sirius resolves to teach him how.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 76





	New Prospects

**Author's Note:**

> it's moony's birthday (!!!) and this has been sitting in my files untouched since december, so i thought what better day to finally post than today? also this was the first mwpp fic i ever wrote so go easy lol, enjoy <3

Remus had never cared all that much for his birthday.

At risk of sounding ridiculously morbid, he had never really had cause to celebrate. He probably would’ve liked his birthday a lot more as a child had he actually had friends, and had he not been isolated since he was barely 5 years old. His parents always bought him presents and decorated the house with shabby banners and rogue balloons, but the celebration maybe had lasted a couple hours at most and then everyone went back to their lives. He was sure he may have had playdates as an infant, but in adolescence this lame excuse for a birthday every year was all Remus could remember.

Sirius Black, to say the least, was the complete opposite.

Remus had learned this barely two months into his first year, and he still remembered watching with a fond smile as James and Sirius made a big deal of the countdown to Sirius’ twelfth birthday. Sirius had been so elated and full of joy that Remus couldn’t even complain about the fact they had sung (screamed) along in pitchy voices to various records blasting from Sirius’ muggle record player well into the early hours of the morning.

Remus had gotten away with his distaste for birthday celebrations due to the fact his and James’ birthdays were so close – whenever anyone (Sirius) would suggest it, Remus would brush it off and avert the subject to _James’_ birthday, which seemed to have been a sufficient topic change for Sirius the Party-Planner Black. It had worked for four years running, Remus should’ve known it wouldn’t last very long.

Sirius and Remus had grown a lot closer since Remus’ sixteenth birthday. Where Sirius and James had the brotherly connection, and Sirius and Peter had a very back-and-forth relationship (in that the levels Sirius tolerated the boy varied from day to day), Remus and Sirius’ relationship was a sort of… grey area between the two.

Sirius _knew_ Remus. Through and through. He understood Remus on a level that Remus didn’t understand himself. Sirius knew when Remus hadn’t eaten because he had been studying. Sirius noticed when something had been troubling Remus (and _always_ seemed to be able to get it out of him). Sirius noticed when Remus would play down a particularly nasty injury after a full moon because he didn’t want to worry anybody. He _cared_ , and Remus _let_ him. As much as Remus’ brain protested against this, as much as he didn’t want to let down his walls and risk anyone getting too close; there was just something about Sirius Black that made you want to tell him your life story.

Knowing Remus on this level meant that Sirius knew damn well Remus didn’t want to make a big deal out of his birthday. However, Sirius was also… well, Sirius. Nothing stopped Sirius Black from throwing a good party and, oh, had he done just that.

Remus had to admit, it had been a lot of fun. When Sirius put his mind to a task he didn’t stop until he came out with the perfect outcome - and despite disapproving of the fact Sirius never utilised this for anything _practical_ , like _schoolwork_ , Remus had to applaud his party throwing skills.

They were well into their sixth year, and along with the fact that the four of them had definitely made a name for themselves, Sirius alone was popular enough that Remus wasn’t surprised in the slightest when not only were the older Gryffindors in attendance but groups of people from all three other houses had come to join also. At the start of the night Remus had made a mental note to apologise to the Fat Lady tomorrow for all the opening and closing, but things had begun to fog up and Remus felt now that he probably wouldn’t remember.

The four bottles of firewhiskey Sirius had stolen in a rebellious rage from his parents had seemingly multiplied with all their guests, and Remus hadn’t actually noticed just how drunk James was until he leaned out of the window and set off fireworks he had bought from Zonko’s when the clock had struck midnight.

This was, of course, a ridiculous safety hazard, and thinking back on it the only explanation Remus had for not stopping him was the fact in all honesty James was a walking safety hazard himself, and _what harm could he do_ , so he had just left him to it.

This excuse, however, had not been nearly good enough for McGonagall who had come storming through the portrait hole in her nightgown and gave a foggy-eyed James a severe reprimanding. Remus had to bite on his fist and dig his face into Sirius’ shoulder to stop from laughing at the look of utter bewilderment on James’ face. The phrase “in one ear and out the other” came to mind, except Remus didn’t feel entirely sure it was going _in_ in the first place.

McGonagall had promptly kicked out the members of the other houses with a disapproving tone and instructed the Gryffindors to go to bed _immediately_. Which of course they didn’t. The party had carried on, somewhat lowkey, until the older students had clocked out, the fifth-year girls left (a slightly tipsy Lily actually gave James a _smile_ – Remus had to stop him from passing out), and Sirius and Peter had had to drag him upstairs at around 4am. For the first time since 6pm, Remus was alone.

He took another swig of the near-empty bottle of whiskey and curled up on the sofa, his knees at his chest, staring tentatively into the crackling fire. Remus had got to the point of actual drunkenness at his peak a few hours ago and was now starting to sober up slightly. Lycanthropy truly did wonders for the alcohol tolerance. Remus was sure this would be an annoying problem when he got a little bit older and simply wanted to get _shitfaced_ , but for now at the new age of 17 he was quite content with the warm buzz in his chest and the ever so slight spinning sensation around the corners of his vision. Remus was so content, in fact, he hadn’t even heard Sirius stumble back down the stairs.

“Peter and James are out,” a voice announced, causing a start in Remus as he turned to see Sirius’ chiselled face and glinting eyes.

A couple of hours ago Remus had thought Sirius was absolutely wankered, but looking at him now, he looked quite sober.

“Took us ten minutes to drag James up to bed, and then Pete had crawled into his bed and passed out before I even got a fucking say,” he grumbled, making his way across the room and flopping onto the other end of the sofa Remus was sat comfortably on.

“Guess we’re on clean up duty…” Sirius breathed, sending Remus a smirk before averting his eyes to the fire. Remus noticed they had glazed over ever so slightly, so he spoke,

“You okay Pads?”

Sirius looked back at him quickly, as if in the five seconds of silence he had forgotten Remus was there, and nodded. “Yeah. Didn’t get that drunk anyway,”

Remus scoffed at this and Sirius raised his eyebrows, laughing and giving Remus a playful nudge, pushing him against the arm of the sofa.

“What?!”

“So, you’re telling me you _weren’t that drunk_ when you climbed onto the table and serenaded me with that Queen song? Which one was it-- _Good Old-Fashioned Loverboy_?”

Sirius’ jaw dropped and his head fell into his palms. Remus laughed a little louder at Sirius’ groans. “Mate, you were _wankered_ ,” Remus finished through laughter.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I _did_ that…” he moaned, his voice muffled against his palms and Remus took another sip of the whiskey. Sirius wiped his face and turned, still laughing but now eyeing the bottle.

“Oh, give me that,” he whispered, taking it from Remus’ hands. Remus raised his eyebrows as Sirius finished the bottle off in one large gulp. He was feeling confident, and continued his relentless teasing,

“You sure you want that? Wouldn’t want you groping Mary Macdonald in front of half the school again.”

This provoked another fit of laughter, and a harder shove in the arm from Sirius (which, this time Remus guessed he deserved).

“Moony, why do you ever let me drink,” Sirius moaned, and Remus dropped his jaw in mock horror. Sirius, looking up and knowing immediately what was coming, let out a barking laugh yet again as Remus started,

“Let you?! If I’m correct _you’re_ the one who insisted to have this party in the first place… can’t blame anyone but yourself, Black. Reap what you sow.” he finished with a teasing smirk.

Contrary to what was coming out of his mouth, Remus didn’t care that much about the party against his will - he had actually quite enjoyed it. He just liked to tease Sirius. He liked to see him smile.

“Did you like it though?” Sirius asked in a lower voice. He looked up, sparkling grey eyes meeting Remus’ gaze and the younger boy smiled.

“Yeah,” he breathed. “I really did.” Sirius gave him a warm smile, and Remus knew that despite his teasing, Sirius knew he was telling the truth.

A moments silence fell over the pair as Remus turned away to stare back into the warmth of the fire, and the only sound that could be heard was the soft crackling and the low taps as Sirius’ fingers drummed rhythmically against the empty firewhiskey bottle.

“She’s nice, I think…” Sirius whispered in a low voice, and Remus turned his head quickly back to him with a low “Hm?” - though, he had heard exactly what Sirius had said.

“Mary, I mean,” Sirius said, louder this time. “She’s nice.”

Remus hummed in affirmation and nodded his head slowly.

“Good kisser too,” Sirius murmured, and Remus wasn’t entirely sure that this one was directed to him. He stayed quiet. Another moment passed.

“Moony?” Sirius asked, turning to him. Remus hummed again in acknowledgement. “Have you ever… y’know…” Sirius trailed off. Remus did not know.

Sirius exhaled sharply at the look of confusion on Remus’ face and opened his mouth again, “Like… _you_ _know_?”

Remus narrowed his eyes.

“Are you asking me about my sex life Sirius Black?”

“ _Remus!”_ Sirius exclaimed with another melodious laugh. Remus smiled slightly, and continued,

“Because, if you were, it is not…” Remus paused to choose his words carefully, “extortionate.”

Sirius raised his eyebrows.

“I was _actually_ only asking if you’ve ever kissed anyone, but nice to know you’re a massive fucking virgin, Moony,” he replied coolly.

Remus’ jaw dropped and he lobbed the pillow underneath his arm at Sirius’ face, who laughed as he caught it and chucked it back playfully.

He hoped Sirius hadn’t noticed the soft redness on his cheeks; or if he had, had put it down to the alcohol.

“I’m guessing that’s a no too, then,” Sirius said after a minute, and Remus nodded.

“Just never really wanted to… don’t think anyone wants to kiss me anyway,” Remus murmured dejectedly, shifting his position slightly to face away from Sirius as the embarrassment started to hit him.

This was futile, however, as Sirius in turn shifted _his_ weight and now sat cross-legged on the sofa, neck craning to peer at Remus’ face. Remus sighed, admitting defeat, and turned back to him.

“Nah…” Sirius murmured, looking at him as if he was reading him, “I’m sure loads of people want to kiss you, they’re just too scared to say.” Remus scoffed at this, and Sirius smiled slightly, rubbing his hands on his knees.

“I wouldn’t even know what to do,” Remus replied, fully contorting his body to face Sirius now. The buzz in his chest had travelled lower and had started to mimic a sense of dread in his stomach.

The truth was Remus knew exactly why he had never kissed anyone. In fact, he was talking to it.

“Nah,” Sirius repeated, this time a little louder and with confidence. “Kissing’s super easy… you just kind of…” Sirius paused, in thought for a moment, and then closed his eyes, pursed his lips and started to contort them, moving his head side to side like he was a bobblehead.

It was comical, and Remus immediately burst out laughing, provoking another light slap on the arm from Sirius.

“I’m sorry, I- that was so fucking _stupid,_ Sirius,” Remus gasped through laughter.

“How else am I supposed to show you?!” Sirius replied, raising his voice some. “S’not like I can go up and get a bird to help me now.”

Remus smiled back up at him, and Sirius’ own smile faltered a small amount as he made eye contact with the smaller boy. Remus furrowed his brows ever so slightly as Sirius cleared his throat, suddenly finding his hands resting in his lap extremely interesting.

Another silence fell over them, except this one was thick with a new energy that Remus couldn’t place.

“I mean I _could_ … show you,” Sirius whispered, hands falling still, looking back up at Remus. Remus raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“I _mean_ ,” the older boy spoke with a frustrated tone, running one of his hands through his hair, “I could… y’know. Demonstrate.” The last word was nothing more than a whisper, though Sirius clearing his throat afterwards gave Remus an inkling that it wasn’t supposed to be.

Remus felt the flush on his cheeks coming back. He hoped to dear Merlin that he wasn’t interpreting Sirius’ words wrong, that the alcohol wasn’t clouding things. Was he really…?

Sirius shook his head with a start, making to get up from the sofa. “Never mind. It’s stupid - just… just forget I said that” he said hastily, not looking at Remus.

Remus’ brain seemed to short circuit, and an alarm seemed to go off that screamed _Keep Sirius Here._ In his panic Remus let out a noise that sounded somewhat like a cat whining and grabbed Sirius’ arms Sirius paused, halfway up, and after a moment slowly sank back down onto the sofa, staring at Remus.

Well. That’ll work.

“Um-” Remus started, suddenly realising his hands were still gripping Sirius’ forearms and retracting them as if they were venomous, “I don’t… Uh… I don’t think it’s stupid…” Remus trailed off, looking away. Sirius’ eyes were usually Remus’ favourite thing to look at, but right now it felt like they were burning into him.

“I mean, it wouldn’t… _mean_ anything,” Sirius murmured, and Remus finally looked back at him, nodding firmly in affirmation and ignoring the part of his brain screaming _Yes it would, dear God, it really fucking would!_

Dragged out of his thoughts, Remus just about fucking _melted_ as Sirius pushed a piece of his hair off from over his left eye. He let out a shaky breath and his eyes fluttered slightly as cold, calloused fingers ghosted over his skin.

Sirius’ hand trailed lightly from Remus’ left temple, where it was lingering, down the side of his face and came to a hesitant halt at the bottom of his face. Taking Remus’ chin tenderly in his thumb and forefinger he pulled the younger boy’s head upwards slightly, and Remus could feel his shaky breath sweep across his face. Remus inched his head further along so they were mere cm apart, but Sirius made the last move and broke the small gap, pressing his lips softly against Remus’.

_Oh._

It felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Remus hadn’t been entirely too sure what to expect; the sensation was a little strange, at first, but it was _so_ much better than what he had imagined. Their lips lingered for a moment, brushing ever so slightly against each other until Sirius inched Remus’ head slightly to the right with his guiding forefinger and leaned in further.

Sirius’ tongue edging around his mouth felt incredible, and Remus thought he could feel his last functioning braincells shrivelling up as Sirius scraped his teeth over Remus’ bottom lip ever so slightly, sending a shudder down Remus’ spine. He tasted like firewhiskey, and Remus thought he might just get drunk all over again.

Where the light touch of Sirius’ fingers edging on his jawline had been ticklish and breath-taking a few moments ago, his touch now felt hot and electric against Remus’ skin. This shift in feeling thus evoked a breathless gasp from Remus as Sirius’ lingering fingers seemed to snap into action, cupping the nape of Remus’ neck with a hint of desperation and rubbing gentle circles on the tender skin between Remus’ shoulder blades and the back of his neck. Remus’ hands had, at some point unbeknownst to him, found their way to Sirius’ chest, gripping the soft material of the thin, muggle t-shirt he was wearing with longing as Sirius led the kiss, swiping his tongue needily over Remus’ bottom lip.

After a few moments Sirius pulled away with a sharp breath, freezing the pair with his hands locked in Remus’ hair and his nose brushing lightly against Remus’ own. Neither dared to open their eyes, locked in a tentative embrace.

“Wow, that was…” Sirius breathed after a few seconds, fingers still running gently through Remus’ hair, “ _Wow_.”

Remus laughed shakily, eyes still closed, his forehead leaning against Sirius’ - who cleared his throat and continued in a firmer whisper,

“You’re good at this, Moony…”

At this Remus finally opened his eyes to lock with Sirius’ own, inches away and staring him down. Sirius’ hands moved slowly and carefully from the back of Remus’ neck down to the other boys own hands, which were still clutching the fabric covering Sirius’ chest.

He took them in his own hands with care, immediately continuing to rub circles with his thumb up and down Remus’ forefinger. Remus wondered briefly if he ever stopped doing that. Not that he wanted him to. Ever.

His eyes travelled down to look at their joined hands and he swallowed nervously.

“Do you…” whispered Sirius apprehensively. Remus looked back up at him, biting his bottom lip softly. “Want to-”

Whatever Sirius was going to say was cut off with a gasp as Remus produced a strangled noise of affirmation and in a split-second his hands were in Sirius’ hair, grabbing the back of his head and slamming their lips together once more.

This kiss was different. Remus had got a taste, and now he didn’t want it to ever stop. Filled with newfound confidence that took both him and Sirius by surprise Remus edged into the kiss, experimenting with his tongue and running his hands needily through Sirius’ hair.

His fingers got caught in Sirius’ now-messy hair and he pulled, accidentally and quite harshly jerking Sirius’ head back. Remus went to apologise but stopped at the soft moan that escaped from Sirius’ lips; he paused, looking at Sirius inquisitorially, and then repeated the action. At the second tug Sirius very near-growled Remus’ name, and kissed him with so much force he fell backwards slightly. Remus smiled into the kiss and continued to run his fingers roughly through Sirius’ hair, provoking more small gasps and finding satisfaction in every one. Maybe he _was_ getting quite good at this.

Remus shuddered violently as Sirius’ hands reached his hips, tunnelling underneath the long sweater he was wearing. Sirius’ cold fingers grasped his bare skin, and Remus felt like he was going to go insane. It took him a moment of recovery before he realised Sirius was pulling him, ever so slightly, and he snapped quickly into action as he realised what the other boy wanted, crawling clumsily into Sirius’ lap.

They both laughed breathlessly as Remus’ knee slipped twice off the narrow sofa they were sat on as he attempted to straddle Sirius through kisses. Sirius grasped him tighter around the hips to prevent him from falling and his lips naturally travelled across Remus’ jaw, planting kisses on his neck. Remus gasped his name as Sirius nipped the skin underneath his ear, getting a small, content hum against his skin in reply.

Remus’ eyes fluttered open slightly as Sirius continued to nip his neck, and he paused. His eyes fixed on the staircase leading to the dorms directly in his line of vision, and then averted quickly to the closed portrait hole. For the first time he realised where they actually were – and that anybody could walk in at any moment.

“Sirius,” he hissed in a low tone. Sirius replied with another content hum, and before Remus could say anything else, he placed another kiss on a particularly sensitive spot just underneath Remus’ jaw, causing his eyes to flutter shut once more with a quiet gasp.

“No… No, Sirius…” he whispered, grasping his hair once more. At these words Sirius paused, and looked up with a sharp shake of his head to free his vision from the hair that had fallen over his eyes.

“What is it?” he whispered, a frown forming on his face. “Do you not-”

“No!” Remus breathed back, cupping Sirius’ face and brushing some stray hairs from his forehead. “No, it’s just… we are literally in the middle of the fucking common room… anyone could come in, shouldn’t we…” he trailed off, with a small jerk of his head towards the staircase leading to their dormitory. Sirius followed his gesture, and then turned back to Remus and pursed his lips slightly.

“Well…” he started, brows furrowing, “It _is_ getting late… if we sleep now, we could forget all about this and get up in time to catch you a bird to kiss at breakfast…” he finished. Remus’ face fell and his stomach lurched.

“Oh… I-”

“Re, oh my god,” Sirius burst into laughter, gripping Remus’ hips tighter and pulling him closer, “I’m _kidding_ , you idiot, please-”. Remus blinked as Sirius leant his head against his chest, laughing hard but quietly. “Your _face_ …”

Remus blinked once more as he processed the rollercoaster of emotions he had felt in the past minute, and an involuntary smile spread across his face. He slapped the back of Sirius’ head playfully, which just spurred on the dark-haired boy below him, burying his face into Remus’ chest and laughing still.

“That was _mean_ …” Remus tried to pout, but he couldn’t stop himself from laughing too. Sirius looked up, a glint in his eyes and a wide grin on his face that made Remus’ chest hurt.

“Oh,” Sirius whined, playful and patronising, and leant down to place more light kisses along Remus’ collarbones, “Oh, I’m sorry…” Remus let out another breathy laugh and felt Sirius smile against his skin.

They clambered their way up to the dormitory clumsily, through kisses and stumbles and Sirius almost falling down the stairs at least twice. Neither were worried about the two boys they shared a room with; Remus was pretty sure the end of the world wouldn’t wake James up at this point.

Still, as the back of Remus’ knees hit the end of his bed and he fell with Sirius close in tow, the older boy lazily cast a silencing spell around his four-poster bed before his wand hit the floor with a clatter and his hands were back on Remus.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this,” Remus breathed, barely audibly, some amount of time later (it could’ve been ten minutes, or it could’ve been an hour; everything outside the sweet confines of the four-poster seemed completely irrelevant. Remus didn’t think he had the brain capacity to think about anything except for Sirius’ hands, Sirius’ lips, _Sirius_ -)

“Me too.”

Remus paused, and tugged at the back of Sirius’ head slightly from where it was resting comfortably on his chest, beckoning the other to look at him. Sirius looked up wearily and Remus had to suppress a smile at the sight of his lazy grin and messy hair.

“You have?” Remus breathed, and Sirius tilted his head slightly.

“Yeah,” he stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Hadn’t you noticed?”

Remus shook his head slightly and Sirius laughed sleepily, draping his arms over Remus’ shoulder and burrowing his face into the crook of Remus’ neck.

“Wanted you _forever_ , Moony…” he mumbled against Remus’ skin. Remus stared at the ceiling, a goofy smile spreading across his face that he was slightly glad Sirius couldn’t see. Sirius hummed lowly and shifted on Remus’ chest. “Third year, probably. Maybe before…”

A moment passed before Remus spoke again, barely a whisper.

“Really?... All that time?”

Sirius hummed in affirmation. Another moment passed.

“What-” Remus began, but he was cut off sharply by Sirius’ sleepy hand brushing a thumb over his lips. Remus instinctively kissed it.

“ _Tomorrow_ , Remus. Sleep now.”

Remus exhaled with contentment, interlocking his fingers with Sirius’ tired, lingering hand and kissing it one last time, before cradling him closer and closing his eyes. He didn’t think he had ever been this happy.

~

They awoke with a start, bodies heavy and retinas _burning_. James had recently picked up the knack of opening every curtain in the room at once, which not only very inconveniently flooded piercing sunlight into the dark room but exposed Remus and Sirius, who had fallen asleep tipsily and peacefully without at all considering how they would be found.

Sirius buried his face deeper into Remus’ neck, groaning, and Remus heard Peter cussing James out from across the room so foully that Remus almost laughed. His head was spinning, and he made a mental note to give Prongs an arse kicking next full moon.

None of them were morning people at the best of times, but especially not after a party. James, however, seemed to have a strange knack for avoiding bad hangovers – a trait that angered Remus to his very core.

Someone in the room tutted quietly and Remus forced himself to open his eyes and squinted to see the stag himself, stood at the end of their bed with a confused look on his face.

“S’too early,” Sirius whined, grumpily like a child, _“James_ …”

He groaned dramatically and snapped his head up to give James a death glare through streaks of messy hair. James laughed loudly.

“Okay first of all, Padfoot, it is quite literally 12pm.” Sirius burrowed his head back into Remus’ neck at this with another melodramatic huff. “Second…” James trailed off, eyes narrowing. Remus raised his eyebrows.

“This?” He pointed his wand accusatorily and waved it between the two. “Yeah, I’m gonna need an explanation.”

Remus scoffed and reached over to the bedside table where his own wand was resting, and with one wave (much to James’ protesting) all of the curtains were shut again. Sirius grumbled something low that sounded like “ _Thank fuck_ ,” and cuddled into Remus, who turned onto his side and held Sirius tightly in his arms, rubbing circles on his shoulder blades.

“We’ll deal with James later.”


End file.
